Michelle Sinapuelas

Dr. Sinapuelas has a variety of classroom experience teaching at the high school and university level. She has taught algebra and science (chemistry and integrated science) at the high school level in California public schools. At the university level she has taught chemistry courses along with a variety of courses for pre-service teachers. These include education courses in science and mathematics teaching methods for elementary and secondary pre-service teachers, classroom management, research methods, and acted as a supervisor and mentor during site visits observing pre-service teacher’s classroom teaching. While a graduate student, Dr. Sinapuelas received the Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award from the UC Berkeley Chemistry department, demonstrating her potential for high quality university level teaching. She was previously a faculty member at California State University Bakersfield in the Teacher Education department as well as in the Curriculum and Instruction Masters program. She has also worked with the UC Berkeley Cal Teach team as an instructor, Director of the Cal Teach Summer Research Institute, and co-director of the Berkeley Engineering Research Experience for Teachers (BERET) program.
Her previous research experiences include evaluating how to better meet the needs of a diverse student population in chemistry courses and how undergraduate STEM majors develop their understanding of the scientific research process. She has published her work in the Journal of Research in Science Teaching. Her current research focuses on pre-service science teachers’ (and their instructors’) developing pedagogical content knowledge and their associated teaching practices in the context of three-dimensional science teaching.